Jack stands help
 

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with the Torin Aluminum Jack Stands? (https://www.amazon.com/Torin-T43004-...ct_top?ie=UTF8)

The reason why I'm thinking of getting a set of these is because I'm looking for a flat-top style jack stand.

I picked up a set of Harbor Freight jack stands and jack stand pads in an attempt to protect the paint on the pinch welds, but they ended up stripping more of the paint than if I had bare metal to metal contact. One of the pinch welds also has a slight bend to it (probably my fault). Does anyone have any advice on preventing pinch weld bending (specifically on flat-top stands)? I've since stopped caring so much about the paint, though will still paint over it occasionally with some ceramic paint or undercoating to prevent rust.

Also, it seems like the jack stand was partially/fully supported by the area just inside the pinch weld (what is that residue? seems like it was there to fill some holes/prevent scratching by the stock jack). I've seen mixed opinions on whether or not this is safe. It appears some people even go as far as turning their jack stands 90 degrees and supporting their cars with only that area.

So here's my take on it. If you look at the factory emergency jack, the pinch weld is used ONLY to locate it inboard/outboard on the car. The jack itself doesn't even touch the pinchweld vertically. All the weight is supported by the pad just inside the pinch weld.

The pinch weld is used only because it's easier than trying to correctly position a jack/jack stand behind it.

I think that's the REAL jacking point, not the pinch weld. in fact, I believe this enough that i made this: Attachment 148748


I don't recommend turning the jackstand sideways though....that's just asking for trouble when it slips off.

Those look great. If only they made jack stands in that shape.

Do you place those on top of your jack stands and let friction keep them in place?

I know there are some adapters out there for the jack itself to lift from behind the pinch weld, but I'm skeptical on placing those on Y shaped jack stands.

I'm actually one of those daredevils that don't use jackstands and just lift the car with the jack only..... =( but mostly because I only really do tire changes and not much more.

If I were to make these fit on a jack stand, I'd probably weld on some two inch skirts so that they won't slide/pop off the stand head?

I see, I wish I had some more tools to machine my own solution. Unfortunately, it would probably be cheaper to get a set of Esco jack stands ($50-70/ea?)

Made these out of hockey pucks so I can protect my rockers.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...psobeemvej.jpg

The Torins scare the weeee out of me. I ended up buying 4 ESCO stands.

https://www.amazon.com/ESCO-10498-Ja...co+jack+stands

They're rock steady, have a slotted rubber cushion over the top plate to protect the pinch welds and support 3 tons each. What's not to like?

Not cheap, but IMHO well worth it.

I have the similar setup. Bought hockey pucks from dollar store and made these.

I second the ESCO stands. I bought four of them. A bit of an investment, but ABSOLUTELY worth it.

Third vote for the ESCO stands. My Z has been sitting on them for the past month or so while I swap the engine and redo the undercoating, and I absolutely love them. They don't seem to adjust as low as a conventional jack stand but they go low enough for me.

The Esco jack stands, ESC-10498, I just received yesterday cost $133.15 for a set of four delivered.
That's $31.05 each and only $8.95 shipping for all four.
The company, link provided, is almost out of stock.
They seem to sell them fast at this price. This is the best price I have found.
It's an extremely strong jack stand. Extra safe!

Note the photo below is from the manufacturers website and is what I received.
The photo on coastal tool supply website, link below, shows the old model which had only 5 adjustable positions. They shipped me the current 10 adjustable position model.

http://www.coastaltoolsupply.com/product/ESC-10498.html

http://esco.net/products/esco-3-ton-...ce-jack-stand/

http://esco.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/10498.jpg

what is jack stands? huh?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psx0l3nrth.jpg[/URL]

This is what I'd like to ultimately get.

How much did that lift set you back?

Also--why not just ramps if the jack stands are giving you so much trouble?

Not enough weight capacity safety margin for me. Just a 5000 lb limit.
I will take the Esco 3 ton jack stand and 24,000 lb weight capacity for four stands.
It's 10 times less expensive, almost 5 times greater safety margin and much easier to move and store.

Thanks for the info. If I'm ever doing major work under the car, I'll definitely pick up a set of the Esco stands (or equivalent). I guess for now since I'm only using them for oil changes I'll stick with the harbor freight jack stands and will just paint over the pinch welds occasionally.

i dont know if you read detailed info on quickjack but if you feel that way then eco 3 ton jack is better for you

yes 10 times less expensive so there is cons for quickjack

I feel much safer to use quickjack and faster to lift.
another alternative is http://www.ezcarlift.com/

Just looked at the EZ carlift. Would rather QuickJack personally (and probably will because racecar).

I'm not sure why people concern themselves about their pinch welds/jack points. They're freakin' pinch welds! They are under the car, designed to bare weight and get a bit roughed up. Of all the things to concern oneself about this, this shouldn't be one. Jack the car up, get on with business. It's not a Picasso.. it's a Scion (or Subaru).

I use the Torin stands. Left my car on a pair for a week at a time in front then rear. I think they are ANSI certified if that's of any significance. I like the base design which looks like it distributes the load over a flat base versus other stands that concentrate weight on 3 or 4 points. Potential danger is if the ground isn't hard enough the concentrated points may sink into the ground.

Both of those factors of safety are more than sufficient. You have to keep in mind that the factor of safety on the item to begin with is greater than 1 so you're stacking factors of safety on top of factors of safety. Being able to lift 2x the weight with another factor of safety present is more than sufficient.




On the jack, I own both and the quick jack is starting to be more trouble than its worth. One of the cylinders developed a leak into the little pressurized air pocket part that pushes the struts back down, and you could see system fluid when you bled the little air nipple. They completely ignored my email to the published tech support email posted on their website about it and it wasn't until I contacted flyin' Miata that I finally got some help. FM told me the vendor was gonna be nice since I was just over the warranty period, and they had shipped out a replacement. The thing is the actual failure and the first email about it that I never got an answer to, were within the timeline. I still haven't gotten around to installing the replacement they sent but I probably used the damn thing less than 10 times and most of them were to lift a Miata so I don't have much faith they are going to last.


It is great to be able to hit a button to lift something and put it back down but they're a pain to move into place, a pain to store, a pain to set up and bleed, and just a general pain. It isn't that hard to use a low profile floor jack and stands so that's what I do most of the time now. Maybe one day I'll get an actual lift installed in the garage.

Well designed stuff can still fail due to poor workmanship and how many of us check the weld quality on our jack stands?
It's a balance of the value of your life vs an extra safety margin. It's cheap life insurance. The stronger the better.

It's also unnecessary. If you think something as expensive and as expensive, low volume, and potentially dangerous as a quick jack leaves the factory without a QA inspection and load test, you're kidding yourself.

Whoa you guys are nuts, I'll trust my pinch welds to hold over hockey pucks all day .-.